Hold released vs refund
When you book, your card is only authorized: your bank shows a hold, but no money moves. If the booking is cancelled before the charge, the hold is simply released. There was never a charge, so there's nothing to refund.
Your card is only charged when:
- The helper presents the QR code at task completion (one-shot tasks), or
- Both parties confirm the borrow handoff (rental period starts), or
- You confirm a tip. Tips are charged right away.
Once your card is charged, the only way to reverse the payment is a refund (full or partial), via the dispute system below or, in rare cases, a Stripe-initiated refund.
When you get a refund automatically
These refunds happen without you having to do anything:
- Cancellation before the charge. The hold is released. Most banks remove it within 1–3 business days; some wait until the next statement cycle.
- Auto-cancelled hold. If the helper doesn't respond or you don't finish the booking within 48 hours, we cancel the hold for you.
- Stripe-initiated reversal. If Stripe flags fraud or the helper's payout account is closed, the charge is reversed automatically and shows up as a refund.
- Borrow deposit released on a clean return. When both parties confirm a clean return, the deposit hold is cancelled, so no charge ever appears on your statement.
When you have to ask
If your card was charged and the work isn't acceptable, the path is the dispute system:
- Open a dispute within 7 days of task completion (or 14 days of return for borrow rentals).
- Upload evidence: photos, messages, anything relevant.
- The helper has 48 hours to respond. If they don't, an admin reviews.
- An admin issues one of: full refund, partial refund, no refund, or split (for damage cases).
Stripe processes any approved refund automatically once the dispute resolves; the platform commission is refunded along with the helper's share.
Borrow rentals & deposits
Borrow rentals put two separate holds on your card: the rent and a refundable deposit. What happens at return depends on the outcome:
- Clean, on-time return
- Rent stays with the lender. Deposit hold is cancelled, so no deposit charge appears.
- Early return (no damage, no late)
- Pro-rated rent refund for the unused days plus the matching service-fee portion. Deposit hold cancelled.
- Late return, no damage
- Late fee charged from your deposit hold (capped at the deposit). Rent stays with the lender.
- Damage (with or without late)
- Damage amount charged from your deposit hold (capped at the deposit). Rent stays with the lender.
If the damage charge fails (for example, your card is declined), our team is notified and follows up with you directly.
Tips
Tips are voluntary and charged the moment you confirm. There's no escrow, and they cannot be refunded in the app. Only tip once you're happy with the work. If your bank reverses a tip as a chargeback, our team handles it manually.
Your 14-day right of withdrawal (EU consumers)
Under the EU Consumer Rights Directive (Directive 2011/83/EU, transposed in Romania as OUG 34/2014), consumers have a 14-day right of withdrawal from distance contracts.
For HandIt's matching service: when you confirm a paid booking, you expressly ask us to start the matching service immediately. Under Article 16(a), the right of withdrawal is lost once the service is fully performed, which is when the task is completed or the rental period starts.
For the contract between you and a helper: most helpers on HandIt are non-traders (private individuals, not businesses). EU consumer-protection rules (including the 14-day withdrawal right) apply between traders and consumers. They do not apply to a contract between two consumers. HandIt's platform protections (escrow, dispute, photo evidence) apply regardless.
If you want to exercise withdrawal before the helper has begun work, cancel from the booking screen, and your hold is released.
How long does it take?
When a refund is issued (as opposed to a hold being released), the typical card timing is 5 to 10 business days for the money to post back to your statement. SEPA / bank-account refunds can take a few days longer.
If you don't see the refund after 10 business days, contact contact@handit.me with your receipt number and we'll investigate with Stripe.
What if I'm still not happy?
If our internal dispute resolution doesn't work for you, you can escalate to ANPC SAL, Romania's out-of-court alternative dispute resolution body. Submitting a complaint there is free for consumers.
Still need a human?
Email contact@handit.me or open a ticket from the in-app Help screen. We aim to reply within two business days.
Out-of-court resolution (Romania)
If we cannot resolve your complaint, you may submit it to ANPC SAL, the Romanian National Authority for Consumer Protection's alternative dispute resolution body. Read more on our ANPC SAL information page.
Last updated: 3 May 2026
These pages are provided for informational purposes and reflect HandIt's current operational rules. They are not a substitute for legal advice. For binding terms see our Terms of Service.